The Hand Fate Deals
by The Chaos Fuzzable
Summary: When a young Naruto runs away due to the villagers’ hate, he ends up in the care of a very unlikely person. -“STUPID BRAT! That’s my gambling money!”-
1. Shuffle the Deck

Summary - When a young Naruto runs due to the villagers' hate, he ends up in the care of a very unlikely person. -"STUPID BRAT!   That's my gambling money!"-

A/N – I'd just like to mention a few things. First, if you haven't read the manga, and don't know a lot about the serious, some of this may be confusing. Another thing, that woman who travels with Tsunade (I think her name is Shizune, but I can't really remember) isn't present in the fic. Lastly, I'm going to try and make this fic free of pairings as well, seeing as I could never please everyone. However, I may or may not write a sidestory, or even something of a sequel containing a pairing. Anyway, I hope you like it! Please review! Tell me what you like and dislike, but please don't flame. Criticism is only welcome when it's constructive. Oh, and I'd like to apologize for any mistakes or grammar errors. I try to avoid those, but I'm too lazy to double check. Thank you! ^_^

 Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto

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The Hand Fate Deals

Prologue – Shuffle the Deck

"Stupid cheating scum," a blond woman muttered as she stalked down the street. She was having a very bad day. Her luck (which was usually bad) had been worse than usual. The other players in the game were likely gloating over winning a good ¾ of her money at this very moment. One of these days she _would_ win big. Yup, one of these days…

            So involved in her thoughts, she never noticed the young boy until he'd run into her from behind. "Watch where you're going, dumb kid!" she snapped, still fuming from her recent loss.

            "Sorry, miss," the boy muttered, eyes downcast. He quickly tried to scramble away. Tsunade's arm snapped out. Her iron grip held him in place. The boy's ragged and scuffed appearance caught her attention. 

            "Where do you live, boy?" she asked suddenly. "Where are your parents?"

            "Nowhere," the kid muttered, "I don't have parents," he whispered. She crouched in front of him.

            "Hey kid, look at me," she requested. Slowly, the child's innocent, tear-filled eyes rose to meet hers. Tsunade's heart went out to him. Her grip on his arm loosened as she realized that she'd probably caused bruises. 

            As soon as she'd loosened her grip, those blue eyes immediately hardened. He wrenched his arm away and dashed into the crowds on the street. Frowning in confusion, it was a few seconds before Tsunade realized what happened. Her eye violently twitched as she felt the absence of her money pouch. The entire village heard her scream of rage. "STUPID BRAT! That's my gambling money! GOD DAMN IT! 

            Thinking fast, the legendary ninja leapt onto a nearby roof, searching for a small boy with a mop of spiky blond hair. After several seconds, she spotted him. He was working his way slowly through the crowd. By the lack of worry on his face, it was obvious that he thought he'd lost her. It was humiliating when she realized that he nearly had. Well, she definitely would _not_ underestimate this kid again.

            Cracking her knuckles, Tsunade swept down on her unsuspecting prey. Before he knew what had happened, she'd snatched him. Ignoring his struggles, she headed towards the inn where she was staying. The people they passed send odd looks towards the strange duo. Tsunade just grinned maniacally and waved at them. She sauntered down the street until reaching her destination. The odd looks continued as she ascended the stairs and passed through the halls to her room. Once there, she locked the door and proceeded to temporarily disable the kid's legs with her charka.

            Still grinning, she plucked her money pouch from his pocket. Depositing it on the dresser, Tsunade then pulled up a chair. She sat and stared silently at the sulking youth on the floor. Now that her money was no longer endangered, she was in a much better mood. However, she fully intended to do something about the little menace. The boy began to fidget nervously after a few moments of silence. 

            "Just what," Tsunade began finally, "possessed you to pick my pocket? Don't you know that you can get in serious trouble?" she continued. He glared at her.

            "Never been caught before," he said, defeated. She frowned. This child definitely seemed unstable. 

            "You're lucky it was me, then. If you cooperate, there won't be any problems. If it had been a lord, you'd be missing a hand right now, at the least," she informed him. He paled visibly. 

"What's your name? How old are you?" she questioned after another period of silence. He hesitated before answering.

"I'm eight. My name's Uzumaki Naruto."

At his words, Tsunade bolted up out of her chair. Naruto flinched, something she didn't fail to notice. "So you really are an orphan," she said, knowing that he was the boy with the fox demon.

"You hate me too," he said softly. It was not a question, just a simple statement. The lack of emotion in his eyes seriously bothered Tsunade. They were like a broken doll's. 

            "Why," she began, "would you say that?"

            Naruto's eyes widened. "_Everyone_ hates me!" he exclaimed.

            "_I _don't hate you. Not that I'm happy that you tried to steal from me, but I don't _hate_ you," she said vehemently.

            "Really," he stuttered, slight hope surfacing in his eyes.

            "Really."

The sheer joy and relief in Naruto's eyes with that simple reply changed something in Tsunade. The old wounds in her heart began to heal. Fate had dealt this boy a harsher hand than hers. Her past was difficult, but it was in the past. She needed to move on. But this boy, he was _living_ with the consequences of his horrible fate each day. So she made her decision that very moment. Tsunade would do everything in her power to help Naruto bear his burden. He would no longer have to be alone. And neither would she…

*********


	2. Deal

A/N Thank you to all my reviewers! I really appreciate all the support and suggestions. A couple people actually suggested a few things pretty close to what I already had planned for this story. They were all great ideas. ^_^ I really am grateful for the support you've shown. I know that right now it's written more in Tsunade's point of view than Naruto's. Don't worry, though. That's only for the first couple of chapter. The majority of this story will be about Naruto. On another note, this will be the only update for awhile. I'm going out of town and I won't have access to a computer for awhile. That's why I'm updating this earlier than I usually would. Anyway, thank you all for reading. Enjoy! ^_~

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. 

*********  

The Hand Fate Deals

Chapter 1 – Deal

Naruto glanced warily towards the woman sitting next to him. She'd offered to buy him ramen at a nearby ramen stand. Never one to turn down free food, he had immediately accepted. Now he took his first real chance to study her. Her hair was bond, a color not as common in this area. She had brown eyes that didn't reveal much, but they definitely didn't show hate. That earned points in Naruto's book. He didn't quite trust her yet, but the free food was helping. It seemed that she was trying to be nice. Of course, it could be and act. However, he believed her when she said she didn't hate him. Naruto really wasn't sure why he did. Something about her made him want to trust her. Most adults he'd met in Konoha had acted with barely leashed hatred towards him. Others simply refused to acknowledge his existed. When he'd left the village, the people he'd met in other places either didn't notice him, or acted condescendingly towards him. This woman though, seemed to have an attitude towards him he recognized somewhat. There was an old man that had visited him every month or so in Konoha. He'd heard people refer to him as Hokage, but had trouble believing that someone visiting him could be anyone important in the beginning. That man, the Hokage, had treated him with respect. He had been kind to Naruto, even when he pulled pranks and caused trouble. This woman seemed similar.

            He looked away again, not wanting to be caught staring. The only thing he could say, with any certainty, was that this woman was a ninja. The way she'd found him again after he was sure he'd lost her and the ease with which she had swooped down and grabbed him hinted at her skill. Her iron grip showed strength that he wouldn't have thought she had. Not to mention that she'd completely disable his legs without the use of any rope. After living most of his life in a ninja village, he saw enough to know something of what ninjas are usually capable of. Naruto stopped that train of thought before it could continue. He didn't want to remember anything from his earlier life.

            "What?" He snapped from his thoughts when he realized she'd asked him a question. She sighed and shook her head. 

            "I was wondering if you'd like to travel with me for awhile?" Tsunade repeated. Seeing his suspicious look she elaborated. "Just for a few weeks or so, to see how it works out, like a probationary period," she explained. "If we don't get along, we go our separate ways. And don't worry about food and lodging. I can take care of that, no problem. Don't worry about paying me back." Of course, she didn't intend to leave him on his own completely even if they did go separate ways. If he didn't like her company, she'd just have to watch out for him from afar. This part of the offer, however, was necessary. Tsunade knew that he'd never agree unless there was a clear way out. He was too wary of people. It would take some time to earn his trust. She'd have to go slowly and coax him along. He was skittish as a wild animal. It wasn't hard to figure out why. He was most likely hated and badly treated by the people of Konoha. However, she was pretty sure she'd convinced Naruto that she didn't hate him, too. That was probably the most important thing at this point. He'd likely agree to her deal, especially at the offer of food, something very important to any kid who'd lived on the street for a length of time. 

            Naruto's face scrunched up in thought. He wasn't really sure what the word 'probationary' meant, but he figured he knew what she meant. Well, by his reckoning it couldn't hurt. If things went badly, he'd leave. Free food was always good. Besides, he was lonely. The offer she gave was extremely tempting. Maybe she could even teach him to be a ninja. Then he'd definitely be able to take care of himself. He smiled, his decision made. 

            "Sure, for awhile," he agreed.

            "Great! By the way, I'm Tsunade," she said, holding out her hand. He accepted it gladly. It was important, Tsunade had realized early on, to show she respected him. Finally, the ramen was ready. Naruto slurped up his meal insanely fast. It was as if he was afraid it would disappear. 

            "You shouldn't eat so fast, you know," Tsunade warned. "It'll make you sick, especially if you're not used to eating that much."

            Naruto frowned skeptically but did slow down…a little. Tsunade sighed. How had she gotten herself into this again?

*********

The Hokage frowned at the jounin reporting to him. They still hadn't found Naruto despite the fact that they'd been searching for a little over four months. Then again the child had a good three week head start. It was very possible that the child had managed to slip across the border into another country before jounins could find him. Once that happened, he could be anywhere. For all they knew, he could have died. That was not a happy thought for the Hokage, and he quickly pushed it aside. The Hokage couldn't help but feel that this was partly his fault… Who was he kidding? He blamed himself entirely.

            Five months ago, there had been problems in the relations between Leaf and Cloud. The treaty that had been made several years ago was still shaky. It seemed there had been a skirmish between a team from Leaf and team from Cloud because of contradicting missions. One group was hired to assassinate someone and another to protect the same person. A member of each team had died. It had taken weeks to sort out the mess. As it turned out, it was a cleverly conceived conspiracy. It had been set up by a _still _unknown third party, with the goal of causing war between Leaf and Cloud. Unfortunately, this caused the Hokage to be rather preoccupied for several weeks. He'd neglected to check up on Naruto in his orb and he'd been late to his monthly visit with Naruto by a few weeks. 

            Later, when it was discovered what happened, he'd had the pleasure of demoting three chuunins to genin status and two jounins to chuunin status. Not only that, but they were assigned constant D-ranked mission for a year. They were, of course, not happy with this, but the punishment was well-earned. Apparently, the three chuunins were a recently promoted team. They were in their mid-teens and had all lost someone to the fox demon. Somehow, they got it in their heads that it would be a good idea to vandalize Naruto's little apartment. Naruto had come home when they were still there. They had taunted and tormented him until he'd run away in tears. Their Jounin instructor, Mizuki, found out, but failed to punish his team or report them. The jounin assigned to sentry duty spotted him, but did not report Naruto's departure, as he too hated the child. When questioned later, he even said that he hoped Naruto had died. As it was, Naruto's absence was not noticed for three weeks. 

            "I see. You're dismissed," the Third told the jounin, who had finished his report. Even as the jounin disappeared, another person appeared in his place.

            "Kakashi, did you find anything?" the Hokage asked the newcomer. Kakashi was one of the jounins searching for Naruto. 

            "Well, I found something interesting, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied. The Third just _knew_ that he was grinning under that mask.

            "And?" the Third prompted, not amused.

            "I found Naruto," he informed the Hokage, whose eyes widened.

            "Oh? And you didn't bring him back?"

            "I apologize, Hokage-sama. However, he was in the company of someone and seemed rather content. I thought to inform you before disrupting them. I took this picture in a village about one mile outside the countries borders" Kakashi explained as he walked to the desk and handed a picture to the Third. In the picture, there were several beautiful girls in bikinis. The Hokage twitched. 

            "Kakashi?" he asked, handing the picture back. Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

            "Err…um…my apologies, Hokage-sama. Wrong picture," the silver haired jounin said rather nervously. He pulled out a different picture and giving it to the Hokage. The picture was of a boy and a woman facing each other and shaking hands. From this view in the picture, he could see the profiles of both their faces. One was definitely Naruto, and the other was…

            "Tsunade," the Hokage breathed, blinking in surprise.

            "I saw them leave the ramen shop together. I followed them to an inn. It seemed they were staying together," Kakashi stated as the Third studied the picture.

            "I see. So, Tsunade is taking care of him. In that case, I believe I will call off this search. If she is taking care of him, then we have nothing to worry about. It is probably safer for Naruto to travel with her than to return to Konoha. Kakashi, your new orders are to observe them and report back to me in two weeks," the Hokage commanded.

            "Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi agreed, before disappearing. 

            "What I would like to know," the Hokage said to himself, "is how Naruto managed to get under Tsunade's skin." He shook his head. It was possible that he would never know.  

*********  

"Tsunade-san," Naruto said suddenly. He and Tsunade were currently walking down the road barely and hour out of the village.

            "Just call me Tsunade," she responded automatically. In the week since they'd met she'd been trying to convince him to call her simply Tsunade. They had spent the past week in the village. Naruto had spent the time judging Tsunade, while Tsunade had tried to earn Naruto's trust. Tsunade had finally gotten sick of hanging around in what she considered a two-bit town. So, with Naruto's approval, they had begun their trek out of the village that very morning.  

            "Tsunade-san," he repeated stubbornly. Tsunade sighed, throwing her hands in the air.

            "Yes?" 

            "Would you teach me how to be a ninja?" he asked nervously, fearing her answer would be negative. She blinked. And here she had thought she would have to ask him if he wanted to learn. Well, she wasn't going to complain. 

            "I thought you'd never ask," she said, smiling. Naruto bounced around excitedly. He'd lightened up some in the past few days…around her anyway. In public he was still rather subdued. "I have to warn you though. If you become my student, you'll have to stick around for longer than a few weeks. You know, a ninja like me doesn't choose a student lightly," she told him seriously. Indeed, this was the first time she'd actually be teaching in years. She'd never taken an individual student either. Her previous teaching had mostly been done in classes for future medic-nins. She had debated whether or not to teach him in the first few days they'd spent together. She honestly didn't think he'd make a good medic-nin like she was. The demon sealed inside him caused his chakra to take on a slightly destructive quality because of how the two chakras mixed. It would be difficult to use this chakra for healing others. She would be able to help him hone natural regenerative abilities, however. She'd noticed how he healed very fast the very first day they'd met. The bruises she'd caused on his arm had faded completely by the end of the day. With some work, he'd probably be able to regenerate almost instantaneously. Despite the fact that he would probably never be a medic-nin, she could still teach him plenty of other things. Besides, someone had to teach him, since he wouldn't be returning to Konoha anytime soon. 

"I guess that would be alright," Naruto agreed. Tsunade nodded. 

"We'll begin tomorrow, then," she informed him.

"Cool."

*********

"You can come out now," Tsunade said, rising from her seat by the campfire. She had waited patiently for Naruto to fall asleep before addressing their shadow. Whoever it was had been watching them on and off for the past week. The jounin chuckled, entering the clearing where they had camped. Tsunade knew from his forehead protector that he was a leaf ninja. He looked vaguely familiar.

            "Tsunade-sama," he said respectfully. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. The Third Hokage sent met."

            "Copy ninja Kakashi, eh?" Tsunade frowned, recognizing him now. Kakashi had been the Fourth's student at one time. "He sent you to spy on me?"

            "Er…well…observe, actually," he said cheerfully. She snorted and crossed her arms.

            "Naruto or I?" she questioned getting straight to the point.

            "Both of you, actually. We've been looking for Naruto for some time. When we found out that he was in your care, I was ordered to observe you and report back," Kakashi explained.

            "I see," Tsunade said. "In that case, go back to the Third and tell him not to worry. I will look out for Naruto from now on." 

            "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I will," the jounin replied before departing. 

Tsunade sighed wearily. At least that had been taken care of. Sitting down once again, she fell into a light doze.

*********        


	3. The First Hand

A/N – Hi!!! I'm back from my vacation now and I've finally got the next chapter up. ^_^ Hehe. Wow! 36 reviews! Hehe! (I live on reviews!) ^_^ Thanx to all my reviewers for your support! I'm so glad you like my fic! This chapter is a bit on the lighter side. It will be more on the serious side later. There still isn't much in Naruto's POV yet, but there will be more next chapter. Sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes. Just too lazy to search them all out, I guess. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and stuff and stuff and… O_o… er… nevermind. *blinks* On with the story. 

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

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The Hand Fate Deals

Chapter 2 – The First Hand

Four Years Later…

              
            Naruto _hated_ mornings. He really, really hated mornings. He _really_ hated them. Not only did the early hours of day mean that he had to wake up from whatever sleep he had gotten, it also was a particularly _evil_ part of the day. Yes, it was _evil_, in every sense of the word. Not to say that he liked the late hours of the night much better. The late hours of the night was when Tsunade dreamt up her schemes and plots. Just the thought sent chills down his back. But, of course, it was the mornings after these nights that were especially scary. It was in the mornings that Tsunade began to hatch her _evil _plots. And this morning she looked particularly _evil_. The grin on her face was just _too_ cheerful and the sparkle in her just eyes _too_ bright. This did not bode well for Naruto. No, this did not bode well at all. She was planning something. He had to do something about it. He had to prevent her from succeeding in her _evil_ plot (whatever that was). However, it was just too early in the morning, and he was still half asleep. His mind was too groggy to properly function. So, even though he _knew_ that Tsunade had something _evil_ planned, all he could do was yawn in what he hoped was an intimidating way and rub his eyes sleepily while trying to glare (which, needless to say, didn't work all that well). Hence the earlier stated fact. Naruto _hated_ mornings. 

            It was not until after they had cleaned up their campsite and were once again on the road that Naruto found out exactly what Tsunade had planned. 

            "So, where exactly are we going?" Naruto asked warily. "You didn't mention it."

            "Well, I think you'll like it where we're going next. They have a particularly good ramen stand. We should have enough money to eat there at least once," Tsunade said cheerfully.

            "Oh?" Naruto replied skeptically, knowing there was more to it. "And what is this placed called?"

            "It's a hidden ninja village. And the best part is I don't have any gambling debts there!" Tsunade grinned.

            "Yet. You don't have debts there, _yet_," Naruto muttered. "You still haven't mentioned the name of this place," he said in a louder voice. 

            "You sure are insistent. For your information, we're going to the place I grew up and lived for most of my life," she explained. Now Naruto was curious. She had never told him exactly where she had come from before. They had always wandered from place to place, and the subject had never come up. Naruto himself wasn't inclined to talk about the time before they'd met, so he'd never brought it up. It hadn't mattered. 

            "You grew up in a ninja village? I suppose that makes sense, considering you're a ninja," Naruto mused, temporarily side-tracked. Tsunade sweat dropped. The kid was bright, it was true. However, he often gave the impression of being an idiot due to his unfailing tendency to state the obvious aloud. 

            "Anyway, I had an idea. I've taught you as much as I can. You've come a long way, and I'm very proud of you," Tsunade smiled. Naruto grinned at the compliment. Tsunade wasn't the kind to hand out praise where it wasn't deserved.

            "So what's the problem?" he prompted, knowing that this was leading somewhere.

            "Simply put, you need to be taught by someone else for awhile," she said bluntly. 

            "…Why?" Naruto was truly puzzled.

            "Because while you are skilled, you're lacking experience. The only person you've ever fought is me. You know how to fight me, but everyone you fight will be different. Not to mention the fact that you've got no experience in completing missions. The only thing I've really taught you is how to fight, besides the basic academics. Therefore, I'm going to see if you can be put onto a team of genin," she explained. Seeing his dismayed look, she continued on before he could protest. "Don't worry, I'll still be around. I'll just have to rent an apartment for awhile in the village or something. I'm not just going to drop you off and leave you on your own," she reassured him.

            "I see," Naruto sighed in relief. He supposed that maybe this scheme wasn't so _evil_ after all. Tsunade's reasoning seemed sound. Plus, if things turned sour, they could just skip town like they always did, right? Really, what could it hurt? "Alright. When do we arrive there?" he inquired. 

            "We should get there in a few days," Tsunade told him. Success!!! They traveled in silence for several minutes more, Tsunade silently rejoicing while Naruto was deep in thought. 

            "Wait a minute! You never told me exactly where we're headed!" he exclaimed suddenly.

            "Konoha, in the Fire Country, of course!" she spouted happily.

            …silence…

"**_WHAT???!!!_**"

*********

The Hokage looked up from his tedious paperwork as an anbu rather suddenly appeared in his office. Well, that wasn't so unusual. The man began babbling immediately. Now _that_ was unusual. An _anbu_ was babbling? And in front of the Hokage? Actually, the anbu looked a little worse for wear. There was a crack in his mask and he was covered in dirt. The Third started as he finally began making sense of the man's rushed words.

            "…and this woman is now at the entrance demanding an audience with you and she's dragging a blond kid that's all tied up and gagged with her and she won't listen to us and when we tried to restrain her she began screaming insults and she sent me flying with a single punch and…and…she's completely insane! Hokage-sama, please do something!" he pleaded. The Hokage's eyebrows rose.

            "And just what did this insane woman look like?" he asked calmly. He had a suspicion already.

            "Well, she's blond, and looks maybe in her late twenties or early thirties. Oh, and she had a weird red diamond mark on her forhead and brown eyes. She's freakishly strong, too," the anbu said, flustered. 

            "I see. I'll guess I'll have to go talk to her myself. I wouldn't want Tsunade to injure all of my ninjas, now would I?" Sarutobi chuckled. He walked calmly out the door, leaving a sputtering anbu behind him.

*********

All activity stopped when the Third Hokage arrived at the scene in a cloud of smoke. 

            "Well, it's about time!" Tsunade fumed as she stalked towards her sensei. 

            "Don't you dare attack Hokage-sama!" a female anbu snapped, rushing to attack. The Hokage motioned her to stop. 

            "It seems there has been a misunderstanding," the Hokage said to his student. 

            "Yes, there certainly has," Tsunade muttered irritably. The Hokage nodded to her before turning to the anxious squad of anbu. 

            "It's alright. Tsunade is no threat to me or the village. There has simply been a misunderstanding. You can stand down now," he informed the anbu. They seemed hesitant still. "You're dismissed," he added, with a significant look. The squad finally left, still reluctant. Now that they were gone, the Hokage took notice of the boy on the ground. The Third recognized him almost immediately. 

            "Naruto?" he asked. The boy said something in reply, but it was undecipherable because of the gag in his mouth. 

            "If I take off the gag, will you behave? No swearing or insults or threats?" Tsunade frowned at him. He glared at her, but nodded. Once free of the gag, it became apparent that Naruto was trying very had to keep from saying something unwise. 

            "You didn't come just to visit your old sensei, eh, Tsunade?" the Hokage observed.

            "How little you think of me, Sarutobi-sensei!" the blond woman smiled. The Third chuckled lightly. "Give me a moment, Sarutobi-sensei. I need to speak with my stubborn student for a minute." Tsunade crouched in front of the bound boy. "Naruto, I need to speak to the Hokage for a while. I'll give the money to you since you still don't trust me with it, so why don't you go buy yourself some ramen at Ichiraku's. It'll be awhile, so feel free to reacquaint yourself with the village. Don't worry. The majority of people here probably won't recognize or remember you. After all, not many knew you in person. Be a good boy, and don't maim anyone, okay?" Tsunade ordered as she unwound the ropes. 

For the first time, the Hokage noticed that the ropes had been enforced with a large amount of Tsunade's chakra. That was interesting indeed, but he kept his questions to himself for the moment. As it was, he took his first opportunity to properly study the boy. He was short for his age, but not extremely so. He wore baggy, dark orange pants and a black t-shirt. Over his shirt was a sleeve-less vest. It was a dark metallic gray. The material seemed durable and probably offered a reasonable amount of protection from minor physical attacks. On each forearm was a metal bracer in a matching color to the vest. Strapped to his right leg was a standard shuriken holster. Only one thing he wore seemed purely for ornamentation. An azure crystal dangled from Naruto's left ear. It was unlike any stone the Third had ever seen. It was an inch long and appeared to be naturally shaped as a fang, or perhaps a tongue of fire. Naruto's whine broke the Hokage out of his thoughts.     

            "Whatever. I guess it's better than hanging around you old people anyway," he pouted. Naruto was one of the few who knew Tsunade's real age. When he'd found out her true age, he'd been struck dumb for half and hour (not an easy task). It was something of a shock, considering that Tsunade looked roughly half her true age. He smiled suddenly. "Besides, I never turn down free ramen!" he exclaimed. The Hokage laughed outright at this. Tsunade pouted, knowing that he'd probably spend all of her gambling money on ramen. Then again, she'd probably be too busy to gamble for while anyway. Sighing, she handed her money pouch over to Naruto who grinned happily. The blond boy sauntered away, whistling a cheerful tune, already contemplating what flavor of ramen he would order. 

*********

            Tsunade lounged comfortably in a chair across from the Hokage's desk. The Third was deep in thought, seriously considering what she had requested. It was true that Naruto needed experience as a ninja beyond what Tsunade could teach.  
The Third knew his student well, however. There was another reason, he was sure of it. A ninja had to be able to read underneath the underneath, after all.  

"Why?" he finally asked. Tsunade had been expecting the question.

            "Naruto needs to experiace with people. He needs to find people he cares about," Tsunade explained. Sarutobi could not stop the surprise from showing on his face.

            "He does not consider you an important person?" he asked.

            "Oh, he does. As of now, I'm the only person he cares about. That is the problem. Only recently did it occur to me that it was a problem," she sighed. Sarutobi understood immediately.

            "I see," the Hokage began, "If anything happened to you…"

            "…he'd be completely lost." Tsunade finished the thought. "Not just that either. Naruto will inevitably outlive me by several decades. And while I'm not quite old yet, I'm not exactly young, either. I don't plan on dying anytime soon, but…" Tsunade shrugged elegantly. "I'm sure you understand."

            "I do, and I completely agree," the Third responded. "Things will work out rather conveniently, in any case. The genin exams took place today, and we are one person short of being able to form the usual three-man teams. In fact, I already have two graduates in mind for his teammates, as well as a particular jounin instructor."

            "Thank you, Sarutobi-sensei! You won't regret it," Tsunade gushed.

            "I certainly hope not."

            "Oh, and one more thing," she began.

            "Yes?" he prompted.

            "Do you think I could have my old job as a medic-nin back?" the unmatched medic-nin inquired. 

            The Third sweat-dropped. As if he'd say no!

*********


	4. Two Pair

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto

The Hand Fate Deals

Chapter 3 – Two Pair

"So old man, any particular reason why you wanted to see me, or are we just going to sit around sipping tea," Tsunade asked after several moments of silence. The Hokage had invited her to lunch shortly after she had taken Naruto to meet his new team. They had only been in town two days, and already Naruto had managed to cause mischief. Today had been interesting, that was certain. It had definitely started weird. Tsunade and Naruto didn't often engage in serious conversations…but today they had done just that.

**Flashback**

"Yo, Tsunade, what exactly is this 'Academy'?" Naruto inquired.

"It's where kids begin learning the basics of combat. The 123's of being a ninja, if you will," Tsunade explained.

"But I'm not attending it? Just meeting my team there?" Naruto was cringing at the thought of having to study.

"Yes. Your teammates have just recently passed the genin exams. The announcements for team assignments are taking place today at the Academy. So you'll also be meeting your jounin instructor. You didn't have to take the test, because I'm vouching for you. Which is a lucky thing, but you always did have peculiar luck…" she trailed off. It was true. Naruto's luck was very strange. He didn't have to take the test (which he probably would have failed) but he'd be happier failing because then he wouldn't have to be on a team. It had taken hours to make him accept the whole 'team' idea. Naruto had the best luck she'd ever seen, especially when it came to gambling. At the same time, he'd been given a harsh live, being the fox demon's vessel. Naruto's luck was usually a double-edged sword. She had never before seen so many contradictions in one person before meeting him.

"Why is it lucky?" Naruto wondered. Tsunade gave him a blank look. "Why am I lucky not taking the test, I mean," he clarified.

"You'd never have passed," Tsunade told him. "The final exam was to complete a successful bunshin."

"That makes sense, I suppose," Naruto agreed. "Bunshin _would_ be considered a very basic, but necessary, skill. It's not everyday you encounter a ninja who can't do it…"

"That's interesting. I could have sworn I see you every day," Tsunade smirked.

"Not funny!" Naruto glared.

"Don't get upset brat. We both know your talents lie elsewhere."

"Yeah, but still…"

"You're nervous about today, aren't you?" Tsunade realized aloud.

"No way!" he snapped. But Tsunade knew he was. He had been acting oddly today. First had had been silent the majority of the morning. She had originally thought he was just sulking over the whole 'team' thing. Then, when he finally did speak, it was to ask a multitude of questions about the Academy and what exactly it was he would be doing on a team. Yeah, he was definitely nervous.

"You don't need to worry so much Naruto. You'll be fine. You're somewhat above the average skill level for a genin. You can handle it. Don't worry about your team, either. No one expects you guys to be best friends. It won't matter if you like each other or not. All that matters is that you learn to trust each other and work together. Eventually, your team can become like your family…" Tsunade's eyes glazed over as her voice became slightly wistful. Naruto didn't know much about Tsunade's past…but he did know something traumatic had happened to split her team apart.

"Not that I would know much about family," Naruto muttered bitterly. Tsunade heard, but didn't comment. Family was a touchy subject for both of them…and best left alone. Tsunade had lost her brother and Naruto had never known his parents. Of course, no one really knew who Naruto's parents were. Tsunade had a suspicion…but that's all it was. Just a thought.

**End Flashback**

Of course, it hadn't been until the actually meeting with his team that the chaos had started.

**Flashback**

Tsunade and Naruto had arrived at the Academy about thirty minutes early and were the first to arrive. Naruto had taken a seat at the back of the classroom while Tsunade sat at the front in the chair provided for her. She had decided to go with Naruto today for two reasons. The first was because she wanted to see what kind of team Naruto would be part of. The second was a favor to the Hokage. He had wanted her to see the new Genins and report to him on her first impression. He was up to something. There had been a humorous glint in his eye as he had asked and she wanted to know what was so funny.

"Hey, Tsunade!" Naruto's voice called from his seat. "I'm bored!" The legendary sannin glanced at her watch and blinked. They'd already been there for five minutes. Naruto had actually sat still for five minutes! It had to have been a record. The boy in question reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards.

"Poker, eh?" Tsunade inquired as the boy approached. Naruto grinned. Tsunade, being the legendary sucker she was, couldn't say no. "Fine, but just one hand…" she sighed.

With the precision of an expert, Naruto shuffed and dealt the cards. Tsunade sighed as she looked at her hand. It was, as usual, unpleasant. Naruto, once again, had that insufferable grin on his face. He always did whenever he played cards. She supposed it could be called his poker face. That dumb grin made it impossible to tell his reaction to his hand. Not that Tsunade could ever read people's faces anyway. Naruto was an expert gambler. Unlike Tsunade he seemed to have unnatural luck _and_ talent. Whenever she lost all their money gambling, the brat would immediately go and win it back. She sometimes wondered where his ability came from. It was no surprise when a minute later Naruto won with a straight flush.

"Winner…me!" Naruto exclaimed, bouncing around. The legendary sucker wondered once again where he got his energy. Just then, the teacher (Tsunade thought his name was Iruka or something) walked in. It was at that moment that Naruto tripped over himself and crashed onto the teacher's desk. There was an ominous creak before the wooden legs collapsed.

"What is going on in here?" the teacher gasped, watching the random papers and objects on the desk fly in different directions. Once again, Tsunade sighed. Today was just one of those days.

"I apologize for the ruckus. My student seems to be on a permanent sugar high sometimes. I'm Tsunade and over there is Hurricane Naruto," she said, pointing towards Naruto. The boy groaned from where he lay on the floor. "I'm very sorry. I'll pay for all the damages," she added.

"No, it's alright," the chuunin said with an equal air of long suffering. "Things like this happen more often than most think. It comes with the job." He attempted a small smile.

"I can only imagine," Tsunade chuckled.

"Oh! Excuse me! I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Umino Iruka. The Hokage told me you would be here. It's an honor to meet one of the legendary sannin," he said with a short bow. Absentmindedly he began gathering the fallen objects.

"Don't worry about the mess. Naruto will clean it up. It was his fault after all," Tsunade told him. She turned to the boy sitting on the ground. "Naruto! What do you think you're doing down there! Get your rear in gear and clean up your mess! If you don't I'll take away your ramen and gambling privileges!" she snapped.

"Yes Ma'am!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He hastily began gathering up the papers and placing them in neat piles on the legless desk.

"See Iruka-san! He's a relatively good boy if you know what strings to pull," she told him.

"I see. But…uh…gambling privileges, Tsunade-sama?" Iruka asked in confusion. "Isn't he a little young?"

"Well, no, not really. The brat is an excellent gambler. If it wasn't for him we'd be broke," Tsunade said cheerfully.

"Okay," Iruka said, still confused.

About twenty minutes later the mess had been cleaned and the graduates had arrived. Tsunade and Naruto had returned to their original seats. Iruka had snapped out of his earlier confusion having come to terms with the strangeness of the odd pair called Tsunade and Naruto. After announcing the teams the jounin instructors had arrived to collect their respective teams. Only one teacher hadn't arrived yet. Iruka, being familiar with the last teacher decided not to stick around for the hours it would inevitably take for Hatake Kakashi to arrive. Tsunade wanted to leave as well, but felt she should stay long enough to observe Naruto's reactions to his teammates. It would be very easy for things to go badly. They were an odd group, that was certain.

"How troublesome," the first teammate sighed. The black haired boy sat at a desk, head propped on one hand. He looked half asleep. Nara Shikamaru was his name. Tsunade knew of the Nara family. They were shadow manipulators and were usually high quality ninjas.

"Hmph," the second one grunted. This kid was definitely a piece of work. Uchiha Sasuke could definitely be labeled as the silent loner. The last of the Uchiha clan. Tsunade had met his brother on a few occasions. She just hoped that Sasuke was different from his one living family member.

"Where the hell is our teacher?" Naruto muttered. So far he hadn't even attempted to talk to his teammates. But she supposed it was better than if they were arguing. Deciding she had seen enough, Tsunade silently leapt out the window. If she stayed much longer she'd miss her meeting with the Hokage.

**End Flashback**

So here she was, eating lunch with the Hokage, waiting for him to say something. Not that she minded. The food was excellent and she almost dreaded whatever the Hokage would ask, as it would probably require her to answer or explain something. However, she just wanted to get it over with.

"I was wondering about your impression of the new genin," the Hokage said finally.

"The large majority will be sent back to the academy, of course," she answered. He nodded. "But what you're really asking about are those that will pass, right? Of course you are. It's pretty obvious which teams will pass because most of those particular genin have enormous potential. It is really amazing. I've never seen that much potential in a new group of graduates before," Tsunade said.

"Yes," the Hokage agreed.

"That's what you wanted me to see?" It was a rhetorical question, but Tsunade asked anyway.

"Of course. There's something more important I have to speak with you about, however."

"Oh?" Tsunade could think of several things the Third would want to know.

"I was wondering about Naruto. What is he capable of? Also, what of the Kyuubi?" he inquired.

"Well, you want to know what kind of training he's had and how skilled he is. That's a tough question to answer. Naruto is different. We made some interesting discoveries during his initial training in basic taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. After that, I had to completely rethink how to go about training him," Tsunade began.

"And?" the Hokage prompted.

"Naruto is average at taijutsu…but if you put a weapon in his hand he excels. He is excellent with some ninjutsu but abysmal in others. As for genjutsu...well…Naruto is completely incapable of performing the simplest genjutsu. You could say that the ninjutsu he's bad at are mostly those related to genjutsu. It's rather funny. Naruto can't even make a simple bunshin, but he has no difficulty with kage bunshin. We discovered it's because of how his chakra interacts with the fox demon's chakra. It's very long and complicated to explain."

"How did you know it was because of the fox demon?" the Hokage inquired.

"Why, we talked to it of course," Tsunade said innocently.

"You _talked_ to it?" The Third was flabbergasted.

"Yup. We developed a jutsu where we could inter his mind and talk to it. The only other way I could think of would be to put him in mortal danger. Personally, I think that a jutsu is far superior to throwing the kid off a cliff or something equally idiotic. One thing I knew from the start was that Naruto would need to be able to control the demon's chakra, or it would be too easy for him to go berserk. So we talked to it and managed to come to an agreement…if you will."

"An…agreement? And just how did you manage that?"

"Well, it turned out to be rather easy. Actually, it was Naruto that did all the work. See, the fox is as addicted to gambling as Naruto and I," Tsunade said as though that explained everything.

"Huh? I don't understand. What did Naruto do?" The Hokage was stumped. Tsunade grinned evilly.

"What, you mean you don't understand? It's simple really!"

"Tsunade…" the Hokage warned.

"Fine, fine! Sheesh. Have some patience. I'm trying to build up some anticipation of an amazing and incredible secret technique here!" she exclaimed.

The Hokage sighed and gestured for her to continue. She smirked.

"He beat it at a game of poker…"

So, what did you think? Please review. I apologize for the mistakes. I didn't take the time to proofread this. I'll get around to it someday. Oh well. Hehe.


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